The Price of Life
by Tm2 Dinobot
Summary: A fluke inn space-time, a discovery of a Stasis pod on a strange planet, and a very grouchy Maximal leads to an adventure that pushes two Predacons' friendship to the limit.


**The Price of Life**

By Sam Ford

Akki refreshed her optics for the third time that cycle, attempting to focus once more on the navigational screen in front of her. She knew where they were, and she knew where they were going. The trouble simply lay in figuring out how to get them there. And she'd better do it quickly, because the captain was about to-

"Captain on the bridge!" Razorsaw shouted, a little too loudly for Akki's overloaded audio receptors.

Looking around, some of the other crew cringed, feeling the same way. Last night had been a celebration of debauchery that had bordered on the hedonistic. The revelry had spread from the galley down to the main holding bay, and it was no secret that Energon and oil weren't the only liquids flowing last night. Akki herself, once again swearing to never do it again, woke up in her cabin with an over stimulated processor that could have taken out a gestalt. At least she'd been alone this time.

So here she was, main navigational and medical officer of the _Silver Mako_, standing at her post and trying not to throw up in front of the captain and crew. With a screech of metal that crossed even the most shielded of circuits, the captain entered the bridge. Akki focused her optics once more, trying one last time to find a safe route to their destination.

The tension in the air was almost palpable as the captain looked around, slowly eyeing each of the crew, possibly hunting for weakness or treachery that she could mercilessly rip it from her command structure. An Altarian Dire Eagle, her avian head twitched in movements that, in addition to her talons and razor tipped beak, seemed to make the Predacon commander all that much more exotic and fear inspiring.

"At ease." Dissever finally ordered.

There was an audible sigh from the Panda at the helm. In a most peculiar compulsion, Dissever ordered that all her bridge crew remain in beast mode at all times. If you didn't have a beast mode, you upgraded. If it wasn't capable of manual dexterity, you were removed. There was little surprise that more than one Predacon on the bridge had adopted a humanoid form. It was a pathological trait Akki would very much like to explore if she ever found the time.

Dissever shuffled up behind Akki, overriding avian instincts to eat the chameleon that was her navigator.

"Doctor." Dissever greeted.

Akki wasn't really a doctor, or even a medic; just the medical officer. She'd refused both those titles after Spectrawave…

"Captain." Akki greeted, looking up for the first time.

There was a capacitor surge and just for a moment she had a flash back to making out with her friend last night. No, that couldn't have happened. Just how high had she been?

"Anything?" Dissever tended to be as cold of liquid nitrogen the morning after a party.

Given her Energon and stimulant consumption last night, Akki guessed it was her way of masking a hangover. Very well. Akki was one of the few on the ship from the old guard. Two could play that game.

"No ma'am. I know where we're heading, but the computer isn't letting me plot the course. It's like the space in-between just doesn't exist."

"Impossible." Razorsaw interrupted. "You're just making excuses for your failure to our commander."

Dissever swiveled an eye back to watcher her most loyal crewmember. "Razorsaw, remember that thing we talked about? About interrupting, and you shutting up before I remove your audio box?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Do it."

"Yes, ma'am."

Akki had to resist the urge to stick her tongue out at the yellow and gold hedgehog. Razorsaw was loyal to a fault, but that was also his only trail. He honestly believed in his core that unquestionable loyalty would be rewarded. Few Predacons would not take advantage of that. Dissever was one of them. Mostly.

He never partook in the revelries that the _Silver Mako _was so well known for, and never showed up for duty late, or with a hangover. His penchant for duty bordered on the obscene. Akki understood why Dissever kept him around, but why keep him so close? Perhaps Dissever was growing paranoid in her old age?

The _Silver Mako_, a _Manifest-_class space dreadnought, was a hold over from the 2nd Great War, after the great colonial expanse that gave the Decepticons their first taste of power. For decades Fusillade stalked it around the space lanes of Monacus, hunting it like the great whale in the Terran story. Fusillade was well known for her addiction to over-clocking and modifications, and the _Silver Mako's_ massive engines were a temptation she simply could not ignore.

Akki never got around to asking who eventually won, but after the Great Upgrade, Dissever simply showed up with it, commandeered as her personal command ship. Dissever probably found it abandoned on some nameless space rock, and it didn't take long for her to begin the extensive overhauls and upgrades; all at the Tri-Predacus Council's expense, of course.

It was not a normal ship, in that it was part pirate ship, part star cruiser, and part personal space yacht. The 600 meter dreadnought was supposed to house a crew of 3,000 colonists or soldiers, and a compliment of 12 star fighters, 6 shuttles and 30 turbo laser batteries. Predacon High Command, however, found a way to strip her down to a mere 4 star fighters, along with a lone shuttle, 10 turbo laser batteries and 2 fusion cannons. Dissever was told that if she wanted a crew, she'd have to recruit it herself. So she did.

Therefore, everyone onboard the _Silver Mako _was hand picked by the captain herself, and felt that the ship was their home. And aside from the captain, there was no order or ranking. There were six officers; seven if you counted Akki doing two jobs, and the rest were simply proud crew members of the Predacon starship _Silver Mako_. Akki supposed that if anyone came close to being 2nd in command, it was herself. Though Razorsaw would be a close second.

Dissever stirred, bringing Akki back to the present. "So there's no way through there?"

"Well, we can fly through it. I just have no idea what's there." Akki gestured to the screen. "We could be flying into a sun or an asteroid field for all I know. The sensors just aren't telling me."

"Hmm." Dissever gestured with her feathers, as if scratching her chin. "Have you mapped a course around it?"

"What am I, a protoform?" Akki caught Dissever's glare and winced.

The captain had complete faith in her; she simply asked these questions for the sake of you rest of the crew and younger Predacons. Discipline must be maintained at all costs.

"Sorry, ma'am. That was, of course, the first thing I did." Akki pulled up the map. "It takes us way the slag out to the edge of the Pan Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere."

"Quint space."

"Yes ma'am."

"How long?"

"A week out of our way."

Akki knew what she was thinking, and she _really_ didn't want to go into Quintesson space. Spectrawave and she had spent enough time there trying to escape that hellhole for a dozen lifetimes. Sensors be scraped, she'd take her chances with what the computer said 'wasn't there.'

"Do it." Dissever nodded and Akki just closed her eyes. "Panda, change course. Take us out, half power."

"Yes, ma'am."

Dissever had the nasty habit of calling her crew by their beast forms, and with Panda, it simply stuck. the helmsman entered the new coordinates and changed course, managing to look confused the entire time. At half power it would take them the better part of a month to get back on track. And while they weren't exactly hurting for supplies, there wouldn't be any revelry in the foreseeable future.

"Akki, I'll see you in my cabin. Razorsaw, call me if anything goes wrong."

"Yes ma'am." Razorsaw saluted as Dissever left the bridge, Akki following close behind.

Cabin; Good. That meant they'd be drinking. Dissever never kept anything more than 10-30 weight oil in her office. She waddled faster, her beast mode not designed for speed of travel. As soon as the cabin door hissed shut, she was in robot mode, unwilling to submit to Dissever's addle-processor whims any further.

"Really? Quint space?"

"Really? 'It's not there'?" Dissever shot back.

Dissever was also in robot mode, feet propped up on her desk, tapping a new cube of Energon as quickly as her shaking hands could access it. So, she was as hung over as Akki was, if not more. The entire cold exterior was simply throwback to Decepticon bravado. She was actually quite approachable, in a Predacon sort of way.

"I thought you knew this area of space like the back of your laser gun?"

"I do. I spent a lot of time here with X-Warlock's Raiders. It's the same reason Spectrawave and I ran this direction." Akki tried to avoid the question, eyeing the Energon.

"Then what's the problem?"

Akki shrugged, sitting on the bunk. "I'm not saying it's not there. I'm just reporting what the sensors say. What's with the half speed?"

"I don't trust the sensors. I want to hang back and see what's going on, but I had to give some kind of order." She still didn't have the cube accessed.

"Here," Akki rose, taking the Energon from her friend's shaking hands. "Let me."

"Thanks." Dissever hung her head.

Dissever, or at least Fusillade, had a few thousand years on the former Decepticon Verticon. Predacon upgrades were advertised to even the playing field and wipe the slate clean, giving everyone a fresh start. It was quickly discovered though, that was a lie. The older the mech, the more difficult the upgrade process and the more adverse the side effects. While Dissever wasn't the oldest mech to ever attempt it, Akki guessed that most of her degenerative problems stemmed from being in cold storage for so many millennia. Who knows what Shockwave had done to her while she was in there? Those two never got along.

That wasn't to say Dissever was old or weak. She was as young and virile as ever. But sometimes, when she let her guard down in front of her former-Decepticon comrade and only friend, Akki could see the neurological side effects starting to eat away. It explained her idiosyncrasies.

"Here." Akki poured the Energon.

"Thanks." Leaned forward with her head on the desk, Dissever drained the glass without even looking up. It was quite a feat.

"How slagged were you last night?" Akki sat down again.

"You should know. You were more sober than I when stasis lock found me."

"I wish I knew."

"I thought you weren't drinking any more?"

"I'm not." Akki looked at the glass in her hand. "Much. But I got into the stims."

"Ah." Dissever nodded. She'd never been one for stimulants herself, but she didn't mind the mech who occasionally partook, only if they were off duty. It's not like Akki was a habitual user. "I believe I named you Captain Party Pants for Life. Also, when I came back online, I couldn't find my torso plate."

"I didn't do it." The automatic reaction tumbled forth.

"What do you mean, 'you didn't do it'?" Dissever turned. "Did something happen?"

Another flashback surged before Akki's optics. "No."

Dissever shrugged. She'd long since learned to shut down the security recordings before a party. And as bad off as the pair of them were, everyone else was barely functional. Except Razorsaw. He never partied. Akki disliked him that much more. She wished, not for the first time, that he'd gone ahead and joined Gigatron's crew. Maybe he'd get the chance again.

Akki was about to say something when an explosion rocked the Silver Mako, shaking it from stem to stern. Energon forgotten, the pair of Predacon femmes were out the door before the floor stopped bucking. Akki raced for the bridge, air whooshing past her as Dissever flew on ahead, klaxons blaring all the while.

The bridge was in chaos, with Predacons shouting and giving orders to each other. The rank system of the _Silver Mako_ came back to bite them all in the aft. Technically they were all the same rank, even Razorsaw. And Predacons, being Predacons, never passed up an opportunity to give orders. Dissever made short work of that. With her mere presence most of the Predacons resumed beast modes, retook their posts and remained silent.

"Steelwind, status report." Dissever ordered.

"No! You abandoned us. I am hereby taking control due to your desertion and incompeta-"

He never finished the sentence. Talons sharper than titanium raked across his throat, severing his vocal connections and spewing mech fluid everywhere. With two hands trying to stay the flow, the only sound Steelwind could utter was like a magnet on a speaker. The wound wasn't fatal, and the vocal connection could be restored without any problems. Akki would ensure there would be problems.

"You're relived of your post. Await treatment in the med lab. Razorsaw, take his place."

"Yes ma'am."

"Panda," Dissever ordered again." Status report."

"Captain?" Akki interrupted.

"What?"

Akki hadn't been focused on Steelwind's disturbance on the bridge like everyone else, or even the tussle and subsequent changing of posts. Her optics stayed transfixed on the view screen from the moment the hatch opened. The lone Predacon in robot mode, she stood out like raw Energon at the imperial court.

A silver wave hovered just off the port side, small at first but growing larger, like a rift in time. It was single handedly the most beautiful and terrifying thing Akki had ever seen.

Dissever saw it now, and stood equally transfixed. "What is it?"

"A Transwarp wave."

"A what?"

"A Transwarp wave front." Akki explained. "It's a theoretical wave that is created when a Transwarp cell is caught in a large explosion. It's said the wave and tear through time. We've never seen one because scientists haven't been able to simulate an explosion large enough."

"How large?" Dissever asked, her beak watering slightly. She loved high explosives.

"Large enough to take out a planet." Akki knew what she was thinking, and didn't like it.

"Well, I'd say that's worth checking out." Dissever turned back to the view screen. "Trace the path and plot a course back to the origin of this 'wave'. And resume beast mode."

"Yes, ma'am." Akki obeyed, and tried to ignore the bad feeling settling into her core.

The Transwarp wave was anything but fun. The _Silver Mako's_ shields managed to filter out all the harmful Transmetal rays, but the actual hull did not fare so well. Five cycles into the ride the forward sensor array snapped off. Akki reported this calmly, with the military demeanor that Dissever expected. Any other crew would have been panicking at the prospect of flying blind. Not those of the _Silver Mako_. This was nothing they couldn't ride out.

Then, at the seven-cycle mark, true disaster struck. Panda reported a loss of steering while a report was still coming in from propulsion. They were picking up speed, and the engines were actually cycling cooler than usual. They were actually being sucked into a rift.

Some of the younger, first generation Predacons looked fearful. Space travel had all but been forgotten during the 3rd Great War, and the art form had only just recently been rediscovered after the Great Upgrade. For Dissever and Akki, this was old hat. Things always went wrong. Still, with no propulsion, steering or navigation, it was not a welcomed hat. Was that a bead of sweat on Dissever's brow?

Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the wave spit them out, disappearing from sight as if it had never existed. Klaxons still blared throughout the _Silver Mako_. With a motion Akki turned them off.

"Report." Dissever ordered, unable to hide the worry from her voice.

"Sensor array is sheered clean off. Shields are down to 20%."

"Engines are still attempting to cycle up. I recommend a full, cold restart."

"I have steering back." Panda reported.

"We have hull breaches in sectors 12 and 17. The hatches sealed cleanly before the damage spread. We have repair crews on their way now."

"Where are we?" Akki asked. That silenced the entire bridge.

"What?" Dissever was a Predacon captain, a former Decepticon Air Commander; she didn't get scared. So what was that feeling crushing over her? "Do you mean you don't know where we are?"

"I've got the computer doing a full star chart reading to be sure. But the short answer is 'no'. We were a week out from the Pan Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere. At this point we should be picking up advertisements and warnings on every channel."

"The sensor array is gone." Razorsaw brushed her off.

Akki stared him down, flipping a switch. White noise filled the bridge. "AM frequency. We don't even need radios to hear it. Tell me, Razorsaw, are your audio receptors missing too?"

"Enough." Dissever ordered. "What's the bottom line, Akki?"

She met Dissever's gaze. "I've never been here before."

"Captain!" one of the crew called. "I've got a planet!"

"On screen."

"We lost our sensor array, remember? If you wait just a moment…" A blurry, pixilated image appeared on the view screen.

"What happened?" Asked Dissever.

"I've got a buddy who rigged his sniper rifle into the ship's relay. We're looking at the planet through his scope." As if to emphasize the point, the image wobbled just a little.

The planet, from what they could make out, was mostly blue with green continents, shrouded in white clouds. That meant liquid water, which indicated probable life. Transformers, while Terraforming their own planets with ore and metal, still needed the same basic elements for life as everything else. Moderate temperatures, organic compounds, and a non-toxic environment. If there was life on this planet, there could be a Cybertronian relay.

"Excellent job, both you and your comrade. Remind me to commend you when we return." Dissever smiled slightly. "Propulsion, take us in."

"Uh, ma'am? Would you like me to reset the engines with a cold start?"

"No, you can do that while the team is down on the planet. Just limp us there for now and continue with repairs where we can. Razorsaw? Prep the landing shuttle."

"Ma'am!" Razorsaw saluted and strode quickly from the bridge. He was fine. He had full faith in his captain.

"Akki, check the wounded."

"Right." Transforming, she ran from the bridge, disregarding a look from the crew.

She'd go 'fix' Steelwind's throat and then see to the damaged on levels 12 and 17. After that, she had a pretty good idea where she and Dissever would be going.

* * *

"Earth?" Dissever asked for the second time.

"Yes ma'am, that's what the star charts say." Panda smiled.

"Can't be. No cities. No humans." Razorsaw folded his arms across his chest.

"For once I agree with Razorsaw. See that island? If this were Earth, that'd be Ireland. But it can't be. The humans nuked it in the early 22nd century. I know, I was there."

"Well, I'm just saying what _your_ star charts tell me, Akki." Panda wasn't smiling any more.

"Earth?" Dissever repeated herself. That was never a good sign.

"Yes, ma'am." Panda was growing nervous.

"Akki, Razorsaw, meet me at the shuttle. Load for bear. Something funny is going on here and I don't like it." Dissever took the rare opportunity to transform on the bridge and walk out, feather sashaying behind her.

"Shall I gather a landing party?" Asked Razorsaw.

"No." Dissever called back as the door hissed shut. "We're doing this one old school."

"What's 'old school'?" All optics turned to Akki.

"Decepticon style." Akki followed her captain out. "Scorch Earth."

* * *

It was a beautiful day in the arctic circle, with temperatures approaching -20°C. Ursa Magnus was currently occupied with stalking the seal that somehow knew it was being hunted. With the snow lightly falling and a slight breeze from the north, he was in a perfect position. Then why did the seal keep ducking back under the ice cap?

Sometimes Ursa wondered why he even wondered. What did the other polar bears think of him that caused them to shun him so badly? Why was he so inept at hunting? And why did he always feel that there was something more to life?

Like last week. He'd fallen down an ice ravine, and was unable to pull himself up. Then suddenly, in a moment of clarity that baffled him, he had hands instead of claws. He wished he could remember.

Still, it was not a bad life. He patrolled the northern wastes, guarding against… something. His base was about a mile to the east, an ice cave with a strange pod in it. He felt safer around the pod, saner. Territorial instincts picked up as well, the drive to protect the pod at all costs. These were emotions that Ursa did not understand. He was the guardian of the north; that was all he needed to know. And currently, he was hungry.

The seal, finally thinking it safe, emerged from the cap to take a look around. That was his mistake. Ursa lunged, shredding his meal with the claws that science had given him. Science? Didn't he mean nature? Either way, he had his meal and his energy would be restored.

The thunderclap overhead tore his mind from its baser functions. Storms were not uncommon over the ice, but Ursa had never heard thunder like this. It started with an explosion that turned into a roar as it descended. The clouds glowed orange as something streaked across the sky, heading east. Ursa shrugged it off as a falling celestial body, the word 'shooting star' leapt unbidden to his mind, until the object slowed and began a slow circle.

This was most curious. The only thing Ursa knew that circled like that were birds, and they only arrived when death was near. Could this be some giant predatory bird? If so, what was it? It appeared to be circling… The pod!

Meal forgotten, Ursa rushed flat out across the ice cap, woofing with every stride, leathered pads barely feeling the crystalline shards. No harm would come to that pod with Ursa Magnus, Guardian of the North on watch.

* * *

"This is it?" Razorsaw emerged from the shuttle, in beast mode as per Dissever's orders. "What a horrible place. It's too cold."

"This whole planet is cold." Akki observed. "It appears to be in the middle of some kind of ice age. This can't possibly be Earth, unless somehow we went back in time."

"Well I hate it."

"Quiet, both of you." Dissever ordered. She looked ridiculous, a giant eagle wearing a scarf descending the boarding ramp. Akki decided not to mention it.

The ice cracked as the trio moved towards the still-smoldering crater they'd created. Upon atmospheric entry, the scanners had picked up an emergency beacon from a Maximal stasis pod. The only thing around for miles, they'd opted to check it out. Using high frequency sonics, they'd melted the ice, exposing the undamaged pod beneath.

"Looks to be in working order." Akki checked the readout. "Don't know why it hasn't activated yet."

"Any signs of a trap?" The always-cautious Dissever asked.

"Nope. It's just what it looks like, a lone stasis pod sitting in the middle of the arctic."

"I don't like it." Razorsaw offered his unwarranted opinion.

"Neither do I." The captain agreed. "Get the pod into the shuttle. Quickly, before something goes wrong."

All three of their commlinks beeped at the same time. "Unknown Terran life-form approaching at high rate of speed." The computer announced.

"Too late." Akki smiled grimly.

She and Razorsaw were instantly in robot mode, scanning the field with high caution. They needn't have bothered; a 800lbs polar bear moving at top speed makes a lot of noise. They heard him before the snow cleared enough to see him.

The problem with their particular landing team was the lack of firepower. Akki was the only one present with a laser rifle, and not a very powerful one at that. Razorsaw, proficient in melee combat, carried only his complimentary saw swords, which when combined, formed a low powered and ineffective Energon bow capable of shooting bolts up to half a mile. Dissever, as usual, shrugged off all ranged weapons in favor of her throwing knives. Her skills as a martial artist were unmatched.

Ursa burst through the last snow bank, roaring all the way. He had no idea who these interlopers were, but he recognized the predatory bird among them. That was enough for him. He charged in, ready to tear them apart.

He never got the chance. A quick salvo from Akki dropped him like a container full of servos. A low grade EMP bolt from Razorsaw's bow finished him off.

"That's… That's not a Maximal, is it?" Akki was having trouble adjusting her filters.

"Can't be." Razorsaw was already struggling to haul the stasis pod to the shuttle. They really needed to bring larger bots next time.

"There's an awful lot of 'impossibilities' on this planet." Dissever observed. "Bring the bear too. We'll take a closer look at him inside."

Without a hover sled it took several cycles to load up the pod. Dissever was not against getting her talons dirty, and lifted Ursa while the other two pulled. Once inside they had the opportunity to rest while Akki went to work examining their new subjects.

"The stasis pod is just fine. The protoform is healthy with a beating spark."

"Why didn't the pod activate on landing?" Dissever asked again.

"According to the logs, reformatting was manually canceled by someone with the proper access codes." Akki shrugged. "There's no security log, so beyond that, I can't tell you. But this baby's ready to wake up. Just give the word and I can upload a Predacon shell program and have her on her feet inside the cycle."

"Not just yet." Dissever weighed her options. "What about the bear?"

"The bear is another case entirely." Akki moved to the containment cell where the bear hovered above their heads in an anti-grav cone. "The 'bear' isn't a bear at all. He's a Maximal." Hitting a button on her keypad, there was an involuntary transformation as Ursa Magnus revealed his true form, still offline.

"Fascinating." Dissever observed. "What's a Maximal doing way out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Off hand? I'd say protecting the pod. I bet he's the one who shut it down too. Probably waiting for help that never arrived."

"Who cares?" Razorsaw drew a serrated blade. "Lets finish him off now while we still have the chance."

"Just a moment." Dissever turned back to Akki as Razorsaw laid his sword on the table next to him. "Can anyone cancel a stasis pod's reformatting?"

"No. Only someone with the proper codes." So the two femmes were on the same wavelength.

"Wake him up." The falcon ordered after a moment.

"That's going to be a bit of a problem. From what I can tell from preliminary scans, his data tracks are so scrambled nothing short of a full CR chamber session will restore them."

"I know you, Akki. You've already done a patch job or some medical gobble-de-gook. Just wake him up."

"Right you are." Akki sighed.

She had done a patch, but there was a possibility that if the subject was put under too much strain, like torture or battle, that it would tear and cause even more damage. Activating the control panel, she brought the Maximal back online slowly. With a twitch of the limbs and a flare of the optics, Ursa's power levels spiked. The control panel locked Akki out before she could even move.

"What just happened?" Razorsaw stepped closer; ready to defend his captain if necessary.

Akki chewed her lip. "I tried remote accessing his processor, and it locked me out. Violently."

"So he's had training?" Asked Dissever. She'd had the same type of training in her former life. It wasn't pleasant.

"No, it's more than that. I know subroutines to get around training. This is hardware, not software. There's a military grade processor in that cranium of his."

"What a waste. Who would put a military grade processor in a Maximal?" Razorsaw laughed.

"I only know of a few," Akki listed them off. "The Maximal High Command, the Convoys, the Corpse Magnii…"

"The White Hand of Prime." Dissever reached the same conclusion.

"Right." Akki turned back to the Maximal.

"What?" Razorsaw asked. He was not a history bot.

"The Corps Magnii were a secret sect going back eons." Dissever explained. "Their jobs were to guard the Matrix of Leadership and the Prime who bares it. They acted as decoys, bodyguards, doubles, whatever the occasion called for, always assuming the name 'Magnus.' Some took the shell of the current Prime to better serve as body doubles and painted themselves white. This garnered their moniker the 'White Hand of Prime.' Legend has it that Prime Nova first utilized their combat skills in the Quintesson uprising of the First Great War."

"The most famous was Optimus Prime's second, Ultra Magnus." Akki explained. "Looking at the coloration, I'd say this one fancies himself Ultra's successor."

"So what happened to them?" Asked Razorsaw.

"No one knows." Dissever replied. "Some say when the age of the Primes ended they were no longer needed, and voluntarily shut themselves down. Others say they are still alive, guarding the Matrix in some far-flung corner of the universe. Legend says that in our darkest hour the Magnii shall return. But all that is known for sure is that they went extinct centuries ago."

"Well," Akki watched her patient. "Mostly."

"So there's no way to crack his processor?" Asked Dissever.

"Not without rendering the contents useless." Replied Akki.

"Pity." Dissever scratched her beak with a wing. "Command codes would fetch a hefty price on the black market."

"What if we cut open his head and take the codes out manually?" Razorsaw suggested.

"Please." Akki replied contemptuously. "This isn't my first rodeo, cowboy.

"What if-"

"Dissever?" interrupted Akki, far off in thought.

"Yes?"

"What were you planning on doing with that protoform?"

"I hadn't decided yet. Why?"

"Let's activate it."

"How will that help with the Maximal?" Razorsaw asked.

"Because," Akki smiled slyly. "I'm going to clone him."

It wasn't easy to catch the former Air Commander off guard. Once, an angry patron had managed it in a bar with a shank to the back, missing her spark chamber by mere inches. She'd snapped his arm off and used his wiring to stave the bleeding.

So it was nice to know that Akki was one of the few in a select group that could still drop Dissever's jaw.

"You know how to do that?"

"In theory." Akki shrugged. "We're going to have to open a tight beam transmission with the _Mako_ since the sensor array is still out. I'm also going to drain most of the power from the shuttle, so we're not going to be able to do anything fancy. "

"What good is that going to do?" Razorsaw managed to ask an intelligent question. He wasn't stupid by any means; Akki just took sadistic pleasure in talking over his head.

"It means we'll have another Magnus to access the Maximal's processor." Dissever replied, already on the comm. "Akki, you should have everything you need in five cycles."

"Great, I'd better get ready. I've always wanted to try this."

"You mean you've never done this before?" Razorsaw started backing toward the hatch.

"Nope." Akki was connecting wires to the pod. "I've read about it though."

"What are the odds it's going to kill him?"

"About one four." Akki responded.

"And us?" Razorsaw was now truly worried.

"Slightly better, I'd say. Ready, Dissever?"

"We're unlinked with the _Mako_ and good to go." Dissever twisted her talon to give a thumbs up. She was being reasonably quiet about her two companions staying in robot mode for so long. Maybe that was a good sign?

Akki threw the switch. Nothing happened.

"Uh, not enough power?" Razorsaw suggested.

"With the right components this should be a relatively simple process." Akki scratched her head. "Theoretically this should work even powered by lighting. I don't know-"

The wiring linking the pod to Ursa's chassis screamed as an electric jolt flew through it, arcing across the cabin, frying everything in its path. The shuttle's engines started emergency fire up routines as every ounce of Energon was rerouted to the main hold.

In his anti-grav cone Ursa bucked and jolted as every servo he had simultaneously overloaded. The three Predacons ducked behind any available cover, lest their circuits be overloaded as well. There was a scream from the pod, building up to a tension shattering pitch. The protoform's spark beat faster, energy surging forth, creating new life.

With one last, dissatisfying shutter, the pod lurched and was still. Smoke filled the hold along with the acidic sent of ozone. Akki coughed, clearing out her air tanks. Aside from the emergency alarms blaring, everything was too quiet. That hadn't gone as expected.

"Any more great ideas, Akki?" Spat Razorsaw.

Before Akki could offer a scathing retort, the pod shifted. All optics shifted to the unusual movement, and three sets of weapons trained on the object. Even Dissever found herself in a rare, robot mode moment.

With another lurch the pod lid swung open. Groans from within confirmed that the occupant was very much alive. Cautiously moving to the other side of the pod, Akki arrived just in time to see a full grown polar bear fall to the deck just like a newborn. There it stayed, groaning again.

"You alright?" Akki knelt down, shifting optic filters and checking vital signs. The new occupant appeared fully functional, and gave off the proper Predacon energy signature.

"I've got a command error in my processor a parsec wide." She complained. Funny, somehow they'd all expected her voice to be lower.

"Do you know who I am?" Akki tested, helping the bear to stand on all fours.

"Akki, navigational and chief medical officer of the _Silver Mako_. Thanks for bringing me online."

"How does she know who we are?" Razorsaw asked nervously.

"I downloaded most of the ship's library to her in the relay." explained Akki. "I figured it would make it easier when bringing her up to speed."

"What's your name, soldier?" Dissever asked, still behind the bear.

The bear snapped to attention at the sound of her commander, Terrorizing on the way. "Ursavus Magnus, ma'am!" Ursavus saluted.

Dissever pursed her lips. Akki did her work well. Perhaps too well. Like all Predacons, Dissever did not brook failure. Treachery was another matter. Razorsaw was loyal to a fault, but Akki was one of the previous line, like herself. She'd tasted power, and that was a hard flavor to forget. Could this entire plot simply be a charade so Akki could amass her own forces? Or was Dissever losing it?

"What's your function, Ursavus?"

"I am the last of the Corpse Magnii, captain, and a loyal Predacon crew member of the _Silver Mako_."

"That remains to be seen." Dissever walked over to the cell, running a hand through the energy field. "Do you know who this is?"

"Uh… Is that me?" Ursavus asked slowly.

"Close." the much shorter Akki answered. "You're actually him. We think he's a Corpse Magnii as well. We need you to access his processor and pull out everything her knows."

"Right." Ursavus nodded, hiding her own insecurities of finding out she was a clone.

Waking forward, she placed a hand on his chest, concentrating. Deep within she could feel security locks disengaging as their systems linked for a file transfer. When the neural corridor opened, Ursavus could see into his mind for just a moment. It was a jumbled, shattered mess. Although she didn't know what it was, she could look out and see the patch that Akki had put in place. It wouldn't last much longer. She needed to pull back; now.

As Ursavus pulled away, she felt the security locks reengage. Suddenly, her screen went fuzzy, as if she were under attack from within. Her processor worked overtime trying to decipher the raw information it had received. Military grade processors weren't like regular processors; they could link up and file share with little or no physical contact, unlike average Maximals and Predacons. It made the transferring of secrets that much easier and more secure.

"Ursavus?"

Ursavus came back around, her vision clearing back to its normal readout. She found herself sitting in a chair somehow, with Akki before her, examining her closely. Dissever had resumed beast mode and was perched on top of the pod's open hatch. Razorsaw had his arms folded across his chest; surly as usual that this was Akki's show to run.

"Come on back, kid." Akki let out a rare, genuine smile.

"I'm alright." Ursavus rubbed her head. "It's just a lot to take in."

"So?" Razorsaw prodded. "What's the scoop?"

"There's a lot of damage in there. Data tracks are missing all over the place. It actually explains several dead-end neural pathways in my own processor."

"I was afraid of that." Akki nodded.

"Who is he?" Dissever was anxious for answers. She wasn't very happy unless she was in the air.

"From what I can piece together his name is Ursa Magnus." Ursavus explained. "He's a command officer on an exploration ship called the _Axalon_. The ship was on a surveying mission when they received orders to track down a rogue Predacon in their quadrant. He'd stolen something from the archives and they needed it back."

That got Dissever's attention. She'd received a wanted notice several deca-cycles back. If it was the same Predacon, they had much to be worried about.

And across the room, as if the sound of his own story being told was enough to drag him from the dredges of stasis lock, Ursa's optics flickered on. Low on power, he hung there listlessly, taking in the situation. With a moment a realization, Ursa recognized the clarity of his own mind. He wasn't a bear, he was a Maximal, and currently he was a prisoner on a Predacon ship.

"The _Axalon _gave chase, following the Predacon ship through some sort of Transwarp portal. They tangled and crippled one another. All the crew of the _Axalon _were ordered to the escape pods, except for a skeleton crew. After that the files become far too corrupted. There are a lot of artifacts just in that one bit."

"You wouldn't have gotten that far if it wasn't for the patch job." Akki explained.

"The ship they were chasing; who was the Predacon thief?" Dissever didn't like the answer.

"They called him 'Megatron.'" Ursavus gestured.

"Who's that?" Razorsaw didn't recognize the name.

"A minor Predacon warlord. Used to be a gambler on Charr before he became Cryotek's apprentice. He's brilliant, motivated and ruthless, even for a Predacon. We've got to get off this planet."

"Maybe he's dead?" suggested Razorsaw helpfully.

"Not likely." The Altarian Dire Eagle turned back to her new subordinate. "This has all been a fascinating history lesson, but what I'm really after are the Magnii command codes. Do you have them?"

"I think so." Ursavus jacked into the terminal. A cloud of data poured onto the screen, streaming past. "They're in there somewhere."

So that was it, they were after military secrets. Ursa smiled. He'd just have to deny them that quest. Activating his owl bot in stealth mode, he fired, using the slave circuit to control the drone. It was tricky using the small appendages to work the keypad, but he managed to shut off the anti-grav beam, dropping him silently to the floor. Now all that separated him from the Predacons was ignorance and reinforced glass.

"Isolate them." Dissever ordered.

"I can't." Ursavus seemed flustered.

"What?" Had this upstart just refused a direct order?

"I said I can't. The codes are there, but the translation program to extrapolate them is missing. I was cloned from a fractured processor. I've got gaps in my programming left and right; my own processor is incomplete. I'm running off streaming data from the _Silver Mako _as a stop-gap." It wasn't an easy thing for a Predacon to admit that she was flawed. It usually resulted in termination.

"Akki?"

Akki shrugged. "She's a repaint, she's only as good as the mold she came from. If tall, white and territorial over there can't pull up the translation, then neither can Maggie."

"'Maggie'?"

Akki shrugged again, stepping closer to her science project. "It fits. She does have the data we're looking for. The only problem is that it's raw. We may be able to decipher some of it if you run it through the _Mako's_ computers for a few cycles, but I doubt we'll get it all."

"You won't be getting anything, Predacons!"

Ursa burst through the glass cell, firing wildly and crashing down on the table. The owl drone made a lunge at Razorsaw's face, while Ursa opened up on Akki and Maggie with his shoulder cannon.

Dissever, reacting on instinct, took flight, cracking her head on the ceiling. Seeing an opportunity, Ursa kicked the sword that Razorsaw had left on the table, flipping it into the air. Catching it with one hand, he began hacking wildly, still firing and concentrating on the owl drone. There was a scream as he made contact, the avian Predacon falling to the ground.

Razorsaw managed to fight off the drone, slicing it in two. The static feedback left Ursa open for just a few nano-cycles. Akki wasted no time taking control of the situation.

"Maggie, Razorsaw, get him!"

"That's your big plan? 'Get him'?" Maggie charged.

"You've got a better idea?" Razorsaw leapt for the Maximal.

Ursa rolled backwards, flipping off the table and landing on his feet. His targeting computer was still down, but Maggie was too big to miss at close range. He fired again, sending her sprawling backwards. Before he could shift to Razorsaw, the black and gold Predacon landed on him with such force that Ursa smashed into another cell, shattering the glass on that one as well. Flinging him off, Ursa changed tactics. It left him wide open, but he fired on the ship's computer, destroying the data and sending flaming bits of technology everywhere. Just for good measure, he put a few holes in the stasis pod. Then the smaller Predacon was all over him again.

"I am equipped with a library of battle tactics from the ship." Maggie assessed the situation. "I am capable of better than 'get him.'"

"Any time now." Razorsaw grunted.

Shifting to beast mode, Maggie charged again, ducking under the wild shots. She reached Ursa just as he threw Razorsaw off, once more splaying him across the floor. Transforming as well, Ursa took to polar bear form, clashing with his broken copy. The two ursines ducked it out in the shuttle's tiny hold, roaring and slashing with claws. It was terrifying.

Akki dragged herself across the cargo hold. She'd taken shrapnel in her right thigh from the exploding console, severing a hydraulic line. Now, leaking fluid, she searched the smoky interior for Dissever. Emergency alarms blared overhead as the fire suppression systems kicked in. Akki almost switched to infrared when she rounded the stasis pod.

"Oh, Primus."

Dissever was lying in a pool of her own fluids, mistransformed, trying in vain to reach robot mode. Several deep gashes decorated her head and chest, but the most spectacular was the stub at her shoulder, losing fuel like there was no tomorrow. Her left wing was completely severed, strewn to the side.

"Dissever!" Akki pulled her close, examining the wounds.

"Ak- Ak-"

"Don't try to speak, and stop trying to transform. You're too badly injured." Akki leaned closer, holding her captain and friend.

The slashes on her head and chest would heal, even without a spell in the CR chamber. Beast modes were amazing things; cyborg bodies that knitted themselves back together. That wing though…

"Dissever, listen to me." Akki locked optics with her comrade. "Your wing is missing. Circuit degradation has already set in, and your body is rerouting vital systems, but not fast enough. I need to sear off the power lines before your fuel pump expels everything and you die."

"Dissever! _Terrorize!_" Dissever tried again. She screamed as her gears failed to shift.

"I told you, you're going to have to reformat with a new beast mode when we get back to the ship." Akki reached for her toolbox, applying the clamps to Dissever's wing stump. "Until then, you're grounded. Try not to pass out."

Akki pressed the button, sending pitched electricity surging through the clamps, searing off the systems that no longer existed. Dissever's processor, recognizing the medical electrical pattern, activated a command code, shutting down all power to the non-existent wing and rerouted all the systems away from the area much faster than it would have on its own. Dissever, former Decepticon and Predacon captain, did not pass out. She did however scream more than she had in a long time.

Ursa and Maggie still grappled, their fur coats turning more red than white. Recognizing the evenly matched battle, Maggie transformed, aiming her own owl drone at Ursa's face. Ursa was a seasoned soldier, however, and transformed as well, sidestepping the attack. With a quick lunge he snapped the drone right off its launcher.

"I'll take that, thank you."

He locked it onto his own shoulder, replacing the one he'd lost. With a quick _click _the bird icon reappeared on his HUD screen. Even though it had come from a Predacon, his systems accepted it, no questions asked. So she really was his clone. Slag.

Maggie reassessed the situation again. All of her battle tactics thus far should have worked, yet Ursa managed to avoid or defeat her at each move. Her logic was sound, and yet she couldn't beat him. Could this be gaps in her programming from the cloning? Or was she, herself, inherently flawed?

Maggie brought her own shoulder cannon around, charging it up. Grappling with Ursa, she had the satisfaction of watching his optics go wide as the cannon's whine reached critical. Her mark IV gauss cannon fired, intending to take her opponent's head. Instead he transformed again, ducking out of her grasp as she blew a hole in the side of the ship. Ursa was gone before the smoke had even cleared. Maggie and Razorsaw gave chase.

Akki rose, striding over to the maintenance wall. Pulling out her laser rifle, she quickly cracked it open and began soldering in new wiring.

"What… are you doing?" Dissever wobbled on her now-unbalanced legs.

"Upgrading."

Out in the wilds once more, Ursa was in his element. Neither Razorsaw nor Ursavus had extreme weather combat training in the field, and Ursa pressed that advantage to its fullest. Sinking out of sight in the snow, he switched over to thermal vision, watching his enemies try to stalk him just as confusion now stalked them. He only needed patience. Predacons weren't that smart.

"Razorsaw, this is militarily unsound." Maggie suggested as her companion moved further away. "We should stay close to the ship and begin a grid search pattern."

"Man, you really don't know anything but books, do you?" Razorsaw scoffed. "Everyone knows that grid searches don't work. You just need to rely on your instincts and speed-"

With a roar Ursa burst forth from the snow, rising up to tower over the Predacon. "Of which you have neither."

"Oh slag."

Ursa crashed down, pounding into the smaller bot with his massive fists. Maggie charged, firing her gauss cannon again. Outside the calm interior of the ship, however, targeting computers were all but useless. The terrain was uneven and the wind buffeted her, causing every one of her shots to miss. She'd never even been there and she already missed Cybertron.

The shots exploded with such force that it caused mini ice volcanoes, hot jets of melted ice struggling to escape, flash freezing as they met the air. Ursa howled at the distraction, and at Razorsaw chomping down on his hand. Maggie crashed into them both, and the three of them went tumbling down.

It was a flurry of ice and robots as the trio tangled on the tundra. Razorsaw, the smallest, was quickly thrown aside. He rose to charge again when his body surged with Energon, dancing across his frame like light on a stream.

"Energon… surge?" He asked, confused.

How could being outside on a strange planet give you an Energon surge? Longingly he looked back at the battling bears. His fight was finished. Transforming into his hedgehog mode, he waddled quickly across the ice, wishing to return to Dissever's side as quickly as possible. On the way in, he passed Akki making her way out through the hole in the hull.

"Is she alright?" He asked.

Akki shook her head. "Lost a wing, too much damage. She'll need to reformat a new beast mode once we get to the ship. I managed to keep her body alive until then. Can't say much for her disposition though, so watch out."

"You too." Razorsaw warned in a rare moment of comradery with his rival. "There's too much Energon out there. Don't let it build up much or you'll get a nasty surge."

"Thanks." Akki hefted her now bulkier gun. "I'm going bear hunting."

Akki limped onto the rent and torn field of battle, wind whistling over her small frame. She could hear the sounds coming from the crater where Maggie's stasis pod had once rested. Leaking hydraulic fluid through a cloth bandage of all things, Akki made her way forward.

Ursa, slightly taller and huskier than his clone, but not by much, appeared to have the upper hand. Both of their ranged weapons had been extinguished, and they once more decked it out in melee combat. Maggie had the know-how of tactical combat, but no real world experience. Ursa kept dodging and avoiding her moves.

Then Maggie, using the archives from the _Silver Mako_, copied a perfect roundhouse kick straight out of a 1970's Bruce Lee movie. It was pure digital movie magic ever time. The hit sent her opponent sprawling backwards. She was on top of him in an instant, tearing at him.

Akki thought for a cycle that she wouldn't be needed after all. Then Ursa smirked as his chest panels pulled away, and he opened up at point blank range with a full salvo from his chain guns. The Predacon reeled away, clutching her chest and face.

"You just can't beat me." Ursa staggered to his feet. "I'm bigger, stronger, older and wiser. You may be my clone, but you're broken. Surrender, Predacon."

"Never!" Ursavus roared, optics like neon.

Maggie charged full tilt, roaring all the way. She didn't bother with fancy moves or battle tactics, but simply powered through as extra Energon surged through her system. Ursa fired his chest mounted chain guns gain, but the shots either ricocheted away or missed vital systems. Either way, they only succeeded in making her angrier.

Grabbing her opponent, Maggie head butted him, cracking her face and splitting his cranium. Ursa wobbled a moment, but Maggie didn't give him a chance to surrender. She pounded him with such force that it would take weeks to hammer the dents out of his chassis. When she held him in the air by the throat, Akki thought it was time to finish it. A Maximal prisoner was worth money. A dead Maximal was worth nothing.

Shoulder her rifle, Akki fired, sending an electric charge buzzing through the air. It collided with Ursa, causing an EMP blast that knocked him out cold and dropped him into beast mode. Inside, unseen to even Ursa, the patch job that Akki had used to hold together his fractured memories ripped, spilling its contents. When he awoke, none of this would ever have happened, and he probably wouldn't even remember his own name.

Ursavus growled at the bear sprawled across her feet. Someone had deprived her of her kill, and that meant someone would pay. Turning, she glared at Akki with such ferocity that it caused even the former Decepticon to shrink back. With another roar, Maggie charged up the side of the crater.

"Don't do it, kid." Akki took aim through her sights.

Maggie crested the ridge, not bothering to slow down. Akki's finger rested on the trigger, waiting for it, not wanting to fire on a comrade. Then Razorsaw's warning came to fruition. Energon rippled across Maggie's superstructure, dropping her to her knees.

"What's… happening?" She stared at her hands.

"There must be unstable Energon around here somewhere. You've been in robot mode too long. Go to beast mode." Akki lowered her weapon.

Maggie transformed into beast mode and Akki rushed to support her. Together they made their way back to the shuttle. As they entered the ramp Dissever met them at the hatch, stumpy appendage and all.

"Is he dead?" Her voice was raspier than usual.

"He will be if we leave him out there." Akki released Maggie, resting for a moment. "Do you want me to go get him?"

"No." Dissever answered with finality, as if answering an argument within her own mind. "Let him freeze to death."

Razorsaw reentered the chamber. "I just got a call from Panda. He says the repairs are more or less complete and they await your orders."

"Prep the engines." The wounded falcon made her way to the cockpit. "And get that… thing, out of here" she nodded to Ursavus.

"What?" a trio of shocked choruses rose up to question her.

"You heard me. It has a broken mind and a shattered memory core. It's made from Maximal parts and can't be trusted. And, oh yeah, the _one_ thing it's good for is finding military secrets, which it can't even do. Dump it."

"Yes ma'am." Razorsaw moved forward.

"What? No!" Akki exclaimed. "Razorsaw, get us out of here. I'll handle this."

"You'll handle nothing!" Dissever bellowed, pulling herself up to her full height. "I gave you a direct order!"

"Which is wrong!" Akki got right in her face. "Ursavus is a loyal Predacon, thru and thru. We created her. _I_ created her. You can't just throw life out when it doesn't conform to a certain image."

"It conforms to an image of a _Maximal that cut off my wing!_" Dissever screeched.

"So that's what this is." Akki folded her arms. "Revenge for your lost wing."

"I give the orders here!"

"Not this one." Akki responded sadly. She'd heard a story once about a human warrior who marched on his own people, crossing a river called the Rubicon. At that moment she knew exactly how he felt. "You can kill anyone you like, Dissever. But I'm not throwing a new life to the Kremzeeks when it hasn't even had a chance to live. You put her out, you're going to have to leave me too."

Dissever waited a beat. "Why are you doing this, Akki?"

"Because long ago someone showed me that it doesn't matter what side you're on; a life is a life."

"Still chasing Dialatius' ghost after all this time, are we?"

"I guess you could say that." Slag. She wished Dissever hadn't said the 'D' word.

"I can't change your mind?"

"Not unless you change yours." Akki prayed one last time for logic to prevail.

"Then get out." Dissever hissed.

Akki stood there, assessing the situation. Dissever was wounded, and it would be nothing to take her out right now. Razorsaw wouldn't be much of a challenge, just put a round in his head while he was piloting.

And then what? Take Ursavus back to the _Silver Mako_ and assume command, spending the rest of her existence watching her back for traitors and usurpers? The thought wearied Akki, and possible or not, she honestly didn't dislike Dissever enough to do that to her. She would just have to have faith that the captain would see the light. After all, she'd need a navigator sooner or later.

"Let's go, Maggie." Akki grabbed her toolbox and rifle and followed Maggie out the hatch.

The engines flared up; the hatch didn't close. Dissever remained in place at the top of the ramp, watching. As the shuttle took to the air, the hatch still hadn't closed, its captain watching as she left a bot behind. Akki tracked the ship until her sensors could no longer pick it up. Sighing, she shouldered her rifle and turned to Maggie.

"What are you waiting for? Start walking. We know there's other Cybertronians on this planet somewhere, and my beast mode doesn't like the cold."

"You gave up your life for mine?" Asked Maggie, awestruck.

"Yeah, well," Akki transformed. "That's generally the price of life."

"Do you think they'll be back?" Maggie asked as the chameleon hopped up on her broad back.

"Yes." Akki smiled sadly. "She will."

* * *

**The War for Cybertron**

"Hey there, pretty girl. Got any goodies for us?"

The three brutes had the white femme pinned against the wall. She struggled, but it was overkill really, they only needed one.

"Boy, did you guys pick the wrong Decepticon to mess with." She snapped. The Autobots simply laughed.

"Hey! Lover boy!" A new comer called.

They turned just as a gunmetal and white bot plowed into them, socking the largest one square across the jaw. The Cassettacon forgotten, they activated their shields, ready to tangle with the jet. The smaller femme dropped daintily to the ground, drawing her own sword.

"Oh boys?" She called.

One turned; the other two ignored her. She decided to spare the one that had chosen to watch, giving him the show of a lifetime. Dancing between the wall and their huskier frames, she was nothing but a white streak as she slashed across their exposed power packs. There was a certain satisfaction in watching the expression on the Autobot's face as his friends exploded. The expression stayed plastered there as the jet-former shoved a grenade in his mouth.

"Thanks." The smaller femme offered her appreciation. "But I could have handled them."

"So I see." The larger transformer admired the bits of Autobot sprinkling to the ground around them. "I'm Fusillade."

"Verticon." She saluted with her sword.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"My platoon abandoned me." Verticon grimaced. "I've been on my own for three days."

"Well, don't worry about a thing, kid." Fusillade juggled another grenade. "Ol' Fusillade will never leave you, and I've always got your back."

"What if we get separated?" Verticon had heard these words before, usually by some Decepticon kid hoping to get lucky.

"Then I'll find you. Trust me, I'm a girl of my word." Fusillade grinned. "Now, let's go find some more Autobots to terrorize."

"You know, Fusillade?" Verticon grinned. "I think this is the start of a long and rowdy friendship."

Fin


End file.
